Published July 19, 2011 - 5:42am
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The Georgia Bulldogs had quite an impressive haul this past weekend at their annual Dawg Night, where massive offensive lineman John Theus and several talented underclassmen pledged their allegiance to play their college football for the Bulldog Nation.
Theus is one of the more impressive offensive line prospects in the country this year, and this commitment was expected because his brother plays for the Georgia. So, the Bulldogs have been the long-time favorite for his services.
Of the underclassmen, running back Derrick Henry from the Jacksonville area looks NFL ready right now as a rising junior. With his muscular 6-3 frame, he is likely to outgrow the running back position, but he can play almost anywhere on the field.
But let me be quick to remind the Georgia faithful – recruiting has never been the problem in Athens; rather, getting those recruits to play with a passion on the field has been the argument of most importance and why there has been continued applied pressure with respect to the coaches.
Mark Richt has been under fire over the last couple of years, and his seat is definitely hot this year again. Many have expressed their displeasure of his leadership over the Georgia program recently and his reluctance to change staff members at the appropriate time. Now, he’ll have a chance to make all of that go away this season with a weak schedule and playmakers all over the field.
There has been a lack of passion from his football team during this time. No one seems to care, and it’s driving everyone in the black and red community insane.
Georgia should be a perennial powerhouse that competes for championships year-in and year-out. They have that Cadillac emblem out on the hood. The curb appeal in Athens is just as nice as the top programs in the country.
The Bulldogs play in the best conference in America, and they have a very fertile recruiting ground surrounding them with tradition that follows. There is no excuse for not winning on the field.
Dawg Night just once again uncovers the dirt on the surface that is the Georgia football program right now. This has been a program that has been extremely uninspired and exhausted for the last several years.
However, there is still time for Richt to right the ship, but it will have to start in game one. This program will always get recruits, but that could halt quickly if it does not translate on the field this season.
I’ll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we’ll be champions. — Paul W. “Bear” Bryant
Somehow, I just can’t see a quote like that coming from Mark Richt. Maybe I’m wrong, but he just doesn’t seem to have that fire in his belly for winning.
You’re right about this, Jon.
Coach Richt does two things very well:
1. He’s a clean-cut, nice-looking guy. Says the right things and represents the university very well.
2. He’s a good recruiter, which is probably the single most important ability a coach can have. (Especially in a talent-rich state like Georgia.)
And beyond that, the positives are about over. He’s not good at getting the team ready for a game, and is one of the worst game coaches I’ve ever seen. Plus, he seems to be more of a “finesse” coach…which is not a good fit for the SEC, I don’t think. And at times, it seems like the team plays “not to lose” instead of playing to win. (A draw play off-tackle on third and long, for example, is not a bad call once in a while…but not four straight third down and long situations in a row.) And worst of all, he seems to have just completely let the team discipline get away from him. And when that happens, a coach can rarely recover it.
I completely agree with you. Thanks for the comments.
For some reason Richt reminds me of Zook. Great recruiter, coaching has dropped off though.
In my mind the criteria for Richt is simple. It’s not a matter of so many wins, not at all. Georgia could win 9 games and make very little progress from last year.
The question should be, How will Georgia play? If it’s more of the sloppy football we’ve seen the last 5 years, then it’s time for a change. But if this team is well-prepared for every game, doesn’t beat itself, and plays to its potential, then it will be clear Richt has turned it around.
Put another way, if Richt gets the most out of what he has, we can be sure the program is on the right track. Under that scenario, anywhere from 8 to 14 wins seems possible.
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I agree that recruiting is not a problem because Goff and Donnan had good recruiting. California , Texas and Florida are the only states that produce more D1 players than Georgia if you believe some publications. So post Vince Dooley lets look at the coaching at Georgia. Ray Goff who was hired after a couple of people turned the job down. He had great recruits Eric Zeir, Champ Bailey, Terrell Davis just to name a few. Couldn’t win enough. Donnan came along after a couple of people turned the job down if I remember correctly. I think Mason took the Kanas job instead and wound up in Minnesota to be fired later. So Donnan has great players he had Stroud and Seymore on the same Dline for two years!!! And couldnt beat the rivals much less win the conference. Not being a Georgia guy the teather was short. In comes Richt with FSU winning and Heisman QB’S (Ward, The old guy) wins the SEC after 2 years plus 1 more (first time in about 20) and has the abilty to beat all the rivals EXCEPT Florida. So the point is this …..Who better??? A defensive Georgia boy? Well Muschamp is in Gainesville. Some say Smart at Bamer. If Richt doesn’t win (and the schedule is managable) we’ll probably see a play for Smart. And the Irony will be he will want more money than his present boss makes. Here’s the kicker ….he may get it!
Afew good quotes from Chip Towers from his column in the AJC.
For the record, the powers to be at UGA have shown nothing but support for the Bulldogs’ 11th-year coach — “He’s not in my hot seat; he’s still in my lap,” longtime executive board member Bob Bishop said in May. But it’s unlikely Richt will encounter such compassion from the grizzled SEC press, who are doggedly determined to identify those those best suited for their “Coaches on Hotseat” lists in tomorrow’s column.
And the ever-thirsty media will be primed to lap up Spurrier’s quip bombs on hot topics such as over-signing, paying student-athletes out of his own pocket and how to suspend players without them actually having to miss games (see quarterback Stephen Garcia).
But it’s never clearer than when the media assembles in the cavernous ballrooms of the Wynfrey Hotel that coaches are the ruling party of this kingdom. Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino (WON NOTHING) and Les Miles are ushered about like movies stars complete with trailing paparazzi, fawning fans and curious, clamoring reporters.
17-24 Auburn (7-5) 2001 did not finish AP Poll Top 25*
10-24 Florida (10-2) 2001 did finish AP Poll Top 25 & 10 blow out
09-14 South Carolina (9-3) 2001 did finish AP Poll Top 25 not 10
16-20 Boston College (8-4) 2001 finished # 21 without win not Top 25*
13-20 Florida (8-5) 2002 finished not Top 25*
10-17 LSU (13-1) 2003 finished Top 25 & 10
13-16 Florida (8-5) 2003 finished # 24 would not be Top 25 without win*
13-34 LSU (13-1) 2003 finished Top 25 & 10 blow out
06-24 Auburn (13-0) 2004 finished Top 25 & 10 blow out
14-19 vols (10-3) 2004 finished Top 25 and not Top 10
30-31 Auburn (9-3) 2005 finished Top 25. LSU & Alabama ahead of UGA.
10-14 Florida (9-3) 2005 finished Top 25 and not Top 10.
35-38 West Virginia (11-1) 2005 finished Top 25 & 10.
20-24 Kentucky (8-5) 2006 did not finish AP Poll Top 25.*
14-21 Florida (13-1) 2006 finished Top 25 & 10.
22-24 Vandie (4-8) 2006 did not finish Top 25 at 4 wins including us.*
33-51 vols (9-4) 2006 finished # 25 & not Top 25 without win blow out*
14-35 vols (10-4) 2007 finished Top 25 and not Top 10 blow out
12-16 South Carolina (6-6) 2007 did not finish Top 25 and no bowl game*
10-49 Florida (13-1) 2008 finished Top 25 and Top 10 blow out
30-41 Alabama (12-2) 2008 finished Top 25 & Top 10 blow out
42-45 Georgia tek (9-4) 2008 finished # 22 without win over us not ranked*
27-34 Kentucky (7-6) 2009 finished not Top 25*
17-41 Florida (13-1) 2009 finished Top 25 & Top 10 blow out
19-45 vols (7-6) 2009 finished not Top 25 blow out*
13-20 LSU (9-4) 2009 finished Top 25 and not Top 10
10-24 Okie State (9-4) 2009 finished not AP Poll Top 25 blow out*
31-49 Auburn (14-0) 2010 finished Top 25 & Top 10 blow out
31-34 Florida (8-5) 2010 finished not AP Poll Top 25*
12-24 Missy State (9-4) 2010 finished Top 25 and not Top 10
24-31 Arky (10-3) 2010 finished Top 25 and not Top 10
06-17 South Carolina (9-5) 2010 finished # 22 no rank without win blow out*
27-29 Colorado (5-7) 2010 finished not Top 25*
06-10 Central Florida (11-3) 2010 finished # 21 & no rank without win*
Jon is correct in writing this blog. Mark Richt, if you take all 11 recruiting classes 2001 through 2011, and average every Scout.com ranking and every Rivals.com ranking for all 11 years worth of recruiting rankings, Mark Richt then averages the # 7 recruiting ranking all 11 years .
Averaging then, 3.4 Losses per season.